Westlake alums Foles, Brees square off in wild card round

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles throws a pass during NFL football practice at the team's training facility, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, in Philadelphia. The Eagles host the New Orleans Saints in a wild-card playoff game on Saturday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

PHILADELPHIA — Westlake High in Austin, Texas has an enrollment of 2,500.

The odds two quarterback-playing alums would square off in the NFL playoffs? Must be about 250,000 to 1, right?

It’s the story within the story Saturday when the Eagles and Nick Foles entertain Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round at Lincoln Financial Field.

Break out the yearbook pics and the pom-pons. They’re from Westlake. They couldn’t be prouder. And if you can’t hear them …

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“I guess you’d say it’s probably pretty rare that two guys from the same high school would be starting against each other, two quarterbacks, in an NFL playoff game,” Brees said on a conference call Wednesday. “I know we’re not facing each other. He’s playing against our defense and I’m playing against their defense. But it’s kind of interesting how this all comes together.”

Immersed in preparation for the Eagles, Brees needed a minute to remember when he watched Foles perform at a Westlake homecoming game in 2006 commemorating the 10-year reunion of the state title won by Brees.

The recollection was awkward but the respect was clear and deep rooted. Westlake won with technique and hard work as opposed to off-the-charts athleticism. Brees and Foles are textbook examples.

“You have a role model from the same area who did a lot for his team winning a state championship in 1996,” Foles said. “That’s something I aspired to. We played in a state championship in 2006, my senior year and we ended up losing. We are 10 years apart and we both played in the state championship.”

Mutual admiration aside there are no hotter quarterbacks in the league right now than Brees and Foles.

The 6-0, 209-pound Brees has thrown 39 touchdown passes against just 12 interceptions. He’s connected on 68.6 percent of his passes. Brees averages 28 completions per game and has a 104.7 passer rating.

The 6-5, 243-pound Foles has 27 touchdowns, two interceptions and a league-leading 119.2 passer rating. He averages 26 attempts, yes attempts, per game.

“Those are pretty impressive numbers, especially for a guy who’s in his first year as a starter,” Brees said of Foles. “I’m very happy for his success. Not just the fact we’re from the high school and I kind of know the road he’s traveled. But he seems like a tremendous young man. I don’t know him that well. I’ve only met him on one or two occasions. You can see just by the way he plays he’s mature beyond his years. And it’s been fun to watch his success.”

With Foles winning eight of his 10 starts the Eagles are 10-6 and in the playoffs for the first time in three years. It was only a few months ago that they were 3-5 and dangerously close to letting the season get away.

“It goes back to believing in each other,” Foles said. “Believing in what we’re doing and staying the course. And that’s the big thing. You don’t want to implode in those situations. You use those situations to make you better as a person and as a team. And I think the guys did a great job of really buying into that and doing that.”

The Saints (11-5) won their first five games this season but just six of the last 11. They’ve lost three straight and four of their last five road games. Moreover, Brees and the Saints are winless in playoff road games.

Saints head coach Sean Payton dismissed the stat and the frigid temperatures forecast for the game, saying the team has ordered warmer, flashier warm-up suits to get through it.

Other than practicing in the same kind of cold, Brees said there wasn’t much to be done to get ready for the projected Ice Bowl.

“It’s like in the 50s and 60s here, not in the 20s,” Brees said. “But I think we’ve all played in that kind of weather before, just not on a consistent basis. So you kind of make the preparations, you try to prepare for it as best you can, I guess just mentally. But once you’re there, it’s football. It’s about execution, knowing your assignments and just executing it. And whatever the conditions are, you manage that whether it’s wind, rain, snow or whatever. But I wouldn’t say were going up there into a situation that we haven’t been in before.”

For Brees and Foles, it is going to be a little different. At the end of the night there’s only going to be enough room for one Chaparrals alum to enjoy another victory.

Follow Bob Grotz on Twitter @BobGrotz.

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